New trees planted at The Wilson in Bethesda

New street trees have been planted in front of The Wilson, the new Carr Properties office tower at 7272 Wisconsin Avenue in downtown Bethesda. These are in place of the three street trees that stood along Wisconsin Avenue prior to demolition of the Apex Building a few years ago. We need all the new trees we can get in downtown Bethesda, so these are a welcome addition/replacement.

Patisserie Manuel temporarily closes at Montgomery Mall after employee tests positive for Covid-19

Two Montgomery County businesses announced they were temporarily closing yesterday due to employees testing positive for Covid-19. Patisserie Manuel announced it would close its Westfield Montgomery Mall location until further notice, after one of its employees tested positive for the coronavirus. 

Carmen's Italian Ice also said it would temporarily close both of its locations after one of its employees tested positive. Because some employees work at both locations, Carmen's is closing both the Rockville and Olney locations.

Both businesses have received positive feedback on their decisions from customers, a number of whom said they appreciated the honesty and openness about the situation.

Keller Williams Capital Properties adds video displays of real estate listings to Bethesda office

Now you can window shop for homes in downtown Bethesda. Keller Williams Capital Properties at 7801 Woodmont Avenue in downtown Bethesda has installed a bank of video screens showing current listings by its agents. 

Flanagan's Harp & Fiddle space officially available for lease

The space formerly home to landmark Irish pub Flanagan's Harp & Fiddle is now officially available for lease. A banner marketing the building was placed on the facade yesterday by Bethesda-based property owner Greenhill Companies. 

Harp & Fiddle cited pandemic restrictions on live music and the Bethesda Streetery as the factors that ended their more than three-decade run in downtown Bethesda. The Streetery was touted by some on the Montgomery County Council as a marvelous solution to restaurants' struggles. But many restaurateurs have complained that their businesses were blocked by the boundaries of the street closures, and that their concerns and feedback were either ignored or not sought at all by County officials.

Montgomery County Councilmember
Andrew Friedson's self-promotion
Streetery media blitz hasn't aged well

Some Montgomery County voters haven't received their mail-in ballots

Some Montgomery County voters are hitting the panic button as the mail-in ballots they requested weeks or months ago have not yet arrived. The panic is not only due to the high anxiety about election fraud this year, but more so because these voters have seen friends' and family members' ballots arrive, while theirs haven't - even though in many cases the requests were mailed the same day, or even together.

The Montgomery County Board of Elections told one voter who requested his ballot over a month ago that, if he doesn't receive it by the end of this week, to request a "second-issue ballot." This can be done by visiting the Board of Elections in person (Monday-Friday, 8:30am-5pm) at 18753 N. Frederick Avenue., Suite 210, in Gaithersburg; emailing your name, date-of-birth, address, mailing address (if needed), and second ballot issue request to absentee@montgomerycountymd.gov; or by reapplying online by texting VBM to 77788 or using this form.

Another big question for some voters is why their ballot isn't shown as received days after mailing it back, or placing it into a dropbox. BOE says that it can take up to two weeks for a ballot to be collected and processed.

Voters are correct to be concerned. I lost my voting rights in the primary earlier this year when my completed ballot was "lost in the mail" on its way back to the BOE, making it the first election I ever missed participating in since I was old enough to register. I personally have received my mail-in ballot. But I will be using a dropbox to return it this time.

Hawkers Asian Street Fare seating preview at Bethesda Row

For those planning to dine-in when Hawkers Asian Street Fare opens on Bethesda Lane, here's a look at the outdoor and indoor furniture being put in place. Outside are long benches and wooden patio chairs. Inside are barstools and a colorful selection of spartan hard chairs. They are currently hiring for all positions.

Redevelopment moving forward at La Madeleine site in Bethesda

A long-planned redevelopment project is gearing up to start construction on the site of the La Madeleine cafe at 7607 Old Georgetown Road. Construction permit applications have been filed to begin work on a 22-story residential tower. The project was originally proposed by Washington Property Company in 2018 as a 24-story tower, and was to be delivered in June 2021, before encountering delays. La Madeleine abruptly closed about two months ago with no explanation.

Shattered glass at Bethesda Avenue office building (Photos)

Shattering or falling glass continues to be a minor issue at recently-constructed buildings in downtown Bethesda. I have not seen any panels fall at the new 4747 Bethesda Avenue office building. But this is at least the second time I have noticed shattered glass panels at the lobby entrance.

Anthropologie moves merchandise into vacant cafe space at Bethesda Row

The Terrain Cafe inside Anthropologie & Co. at Bethesda Row closed at the beginning of August. Now the space has become part of the sales floor at the home goods and clothing retailer. Merchandise on display is now changing like the fall foliage from autumn themes to Christmas, including wreaths and Christmas trees.

Revere Bank closes in downtown Bethesda

Revere Bank has closed at 7700 Old Georgetown Road in the Garden Plaza building. The branch has been cleared out inside, and signage has been removed (or flipped around backwards, in the case of the tenant list outside).

Sidewalk work at Hampden Lane and Woodmont Avenue

A sidewalk project is underway at the intersection of Hampden Lane and Woodmont Avenue in downtown Bethesda. It appears to be an ADA crosswalk upgrade at the corners.

Westbard developer seeks extension for preliminary and site plan amendments

Regency Centers and development partner Kensington Senior Living are asking the Montgomery County Planning Board for an extension on amendments they have proposed to the preliminary and site plans for a senior living development in the Westbard area of Bethesda. The applicants' attorney, Erin Girard, says they need additional time to address Development Review Committee feedback on the architectural design and site plan. They then need time to review changes made based on that feedback with Montgomery County Planning Department staff, Girard added.

The Board will take up the extension request at its October 15, 2020 meeting. Planning staff are recommending approval of the request.

Douglas Development wheeling and dealing in downtown Bethesda again

DC powerhouse real estate firm Douglas Development is making moves on the downtown Bethesda chess board again. Founder and president Douglas Jemal hasn't made the most predictable moves here of late. While delivering such large-scale projects as New City DC in Ivy City, the company hasn't assembled large lots in Bethesda. The latest transactions are again modest in scale, with LLCs tied to Bethesda-based Greenhill Companies, a major real estate firm in Montgomery County.

It appears the companies have made a swap of properties in the Woodmont Triangle. Douglas last month acquired the low-rise office building at 4933 Auburn Avenue for $1,741,800, according to Maryland real estate records. In turn, it sold a parking lot at 4906 Del Ray Avenue to Greenhill for the exact same price. Longtime readers may recall Douglas purchased that lot in 2014.

Douglas previously relinquished plans to redevelop 8008 Wisconsin Avenue, and did not acquire the adjoining gas station lot next to its Hampden Lane property. But it did manage to attract one of the top retail tenants imaginable, Target, to its Shops of Wisconsin mall at 6831 Wisconsin Avenue. The track record and cachet of Douglas make its Bethesda deals worth following.

Thieves return to Bradley Boulevard corridor of Bethesda again

The ongoing auto crime wave in Bethesda continues. Items were taken from a vehicle parked in driveway of a home in the 5500 block of Brite Drive over the night between October 1 and October 2. The next evening, property was stolen from a car parked along the street in the 3700 block of Bradley Lane.

SUV flips over after collision with truck in Bethesda (Video+Photos)

An SUV flipped over on Wisconsin Avenue near Montgomery Lane in downtown Bethesda around 3:45 PM this afternoon. Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services spokesperson Pete Piringer said the vehicle collided with a truck. Traffic was impacted in both directions on MD 355 as firefighters responded to the scene. The overturned vehicle was in the southbound lanes, in front of the old Post Office and Hyatt Regency Bethesda hotel. No information regarding injuries has been released so far.